Implosion Topper
by KJay99
Summary: Picks up after the team runs away from the implosion grenade at the end of "Implosion". Just an additional scene that I think might have happened.


**Just had to get this out of my skull. It was bouncing around in there for quite a while now.**

**No point to this really, just a bit of additional scene that others on this site are so good at.**

**Please, as always, feel free to criticize and leave feedback!**

**We pick up at the end of Implosion seconds before the implosion grenade goes off inside the hanger. Artie is stabbed and Mac Phereson is running away. Action!**

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><p>The three agents ran out the door, away from the implosion grenade. After a few dozen feet Artie called out, "No, no! Down, down!" He pulled Pete down with his good arm and yelled at Myka. The three agents hit the dirt and therefore avoided the suction that pulled in Pete and Myka the last time.<p>

Even on the ground, the agents were pulled by the implosion grenade when it went off. The metal doors of the hanger crumpled inward under it's force. During the whirlwind that was drawn into the grenade's pull Pete yelled "Hang on!"

"To what?" screamed Myka into the noise.

The team clawed at the ground as they were pulled back towards the hanger. Then, as suddenly as it started, the whirlwind stopped.

Pete and Myka raised their heads. Pete asked Myka, "You ok?"

"Yeah. Artie?" She put her hand out to her boss lying on his side next to her.

He grunted out, "Yeah." With an effort he rolled onto his back. He grimaced and croaked out, "Ow."

The two younger agents helped Artie sit up. He looked around with a slight panic. "Where…where's the sword?"

Pete reached behind Artie and picked up the sword from where he had dropped it. "Right here Artie." He handed the sheathed sword to his boss who grasped it tightly with his good right arm. "James?" The three agents looked towards the crumpled hanger.

Pete responded, "I don't know Artie, I think he's long gone."

Myka added, "He probably used that implosion grenade to cover his escape."

"Yeah. I doubt that we'll see him for a while."

Artie nodded his head in agreement. They were right. The grenade had been meant more as a diversion rather then to kill them. James used it to give him time to escape. They would have to hunt him down. Again. He started to get to his feet and Pete grabbed him under his left arm, which produced a cut off cry of pain. Artie grabbed at his shoulder with the hand that still held the sword.

Pete let go of his boss. "Artie! Sorry!"

Myka deduced that his reaction came from something other than Pete's touch. She put her hand on Artie's chest supportively, careful of his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Gasping, he shook his head. "Don't… know." Artie shot Myka a pleading look of pain right before he squeezed his eyes shut and bent over in agony, barely stifling a scream.

"Artie!" Myka grabbed her boss's shirt stopping him from hitting the dirt.

Pete put a hand on his back and called his name with concern while Artie grunted and shook. After several long seconds Artie gasped for breath.

"Peeete?" Myka looked to her partner who only shook his head with worry. He didn't know what happened either.

Pete bent down to look at his boss. "Artie? Hey." Then he noticed the blood flowing freely from the cut in his shoulder. "Myka!"

She shifted and looked at the cut on Artie's back as he caught his breath. She saw the blood coming from that wound as well. Her head snapped up to look at Pete. "First aid kit. The car."

"On it!" Pete jumped to his feet and dashed for their car that they parked at the side of the hanger so as to approach unnoticed earlier.

Myka held onto Artie who swallowed and caught his breath. She reached over and pressed a relatively clean part of his shirt into his wound to try to slow the flow of blood.

Quickly, Pete ran back with a travel first aid kit. He handed it to Myka who opened it while he panted along with Artie. She pulled out some gauze and handed it to Pete then took some for herself. Pete applied the gauze to the exit wound on Artie's back and pressed causing a stifled grunt. Myka pulled Artie's shirt away from the wound then took out scissors and cut the second shirt open a little before applying her gauze. "Hold this." She instructed to Pete before rummaging in the kit again, but Artie, refusing to be helpless, swapped the sword to his left hand and used his right to press the gauze on the front wound against Pete pressing on the back.

Artie raised his head up and looked at Pete. The younger agent tried to reassure him. "We'll get you back to the warehouse. You doing alright?"

Artie swallowed hard and nodded, "Yeah."

Less than a minute later his breath was taken from him again when the pain grew in his wound. Pete noticed. "Artie?"

The pain from his wound suddenly redoubled. Artie screamed and broke free of Pete's grasp landing on the ground clutching at his shoulder in agony. Pete and Myka both bent down to him. "Artie!"

The graying agent choked as he felt the wound in his shoulder being ripped open from front to back. It was like being stabbed again- but worse; more slowly as it took a few seconds for the process to complete. The pain cut across his chest consuming his whole world and stealing his breath. He tensed against the pain, frantically grabbing at his shoulder and rolled half face down into the dirt. Artie twitched as the pain shot up his spine then shut off his brain.

His next sensation was of hands rolling him over. Artie pushed his eye lids open to see his two agents looking down anxiously at him. He groaned. Pete and Myka exchanged a worried look. Myka wordlessly handed her partner the last of the gauze. Pete pressed it against the newly opened wound to try to stop the rapid blood loss.

"We have to get him to a hospital." Myka said.

"Yeah. Here, take this. I'll get the car." He shifted to allow Myka to hold the gauze.

Myka reached over her boss to continue to apply pressure to the wound. Artie saw her ungloved hand and grabbed it, preventing her from touching him. "No, no, no, no, no… gloves, gloves!"

"What?" Myka leaned into him.

Artie held her hand away from him. He remembered the agonizing slicing sensation and reopening of the wound through his chest. It felt like the sword was reentering the wound cutting it opened each time. He said, "Artifact; the sword. Has- has to be... has to be…." He grunted. "Gloves."

Myka and Pete immediately dug into their pockets. Pete came out with his gloves first and pressed them against Artie's shoulder, not taking the time to put them on. A sigh of relief came out as the tension and immediate pain was significantly lessened upon contact with the imbued neutralizer. Myka smiled at Pete when she saw Artie's pain ease. That confirmed it for her. He was under the influence of the artifact sword and it was still trying to kill him.

Pete felt Artie relax, then soon tense again under his hand. "Artie? Hey man…" Artie gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut as a grimace grew in intensity.

Myka saw the attack start again. She laid her hand on Artie's chest and looked at Pete. "He can't take much more of this."

Artie whimpered as the slicing started. Pete frowned down at Artie who was struggling against the effects of the artifact with much less energy than just a few minutes ago. Suddenly he looked up. "Goo." Pete exchanged a look with Myka. He jumped to his feet and sprinted to the car to get the can of neutralizer.

Myka took over for Pete. She scooted around Artie and pressed hard into his shoulder as he squirmed beneath her. He stopped only half a scream and weakly grabbed at his shoulder. Myka crinkled her brow in worry and pressed the soaked gauze into his shoulder with her gloved hands, attempting to stop the blood loss that was pooling on the ground beneath him.

Artie grunted again and slowly rolled back on the ground. His partly opened eyes fluttered closed with a small gasp.

"Artie?" Myka called. Pete sprinted back to the pair as she was shaking and slapping him lightly, trying to get him to respond.

"How is he?" Pete looked at Artie twitching with labored breathing, then at Myka who he had never seen looked so worried before. He didn't stop for her to respond, but twisted off the top of the neutralizer container faster than he had ever done before.

Myka put her whole weight into her boss's shoulder. Pete tugged the sword free of Artie's limp hand and laid it on the ground. He stood over it and poured neutralizer down the length of the sword. A few sparks jumped from the handle of the sword. Pete looked to Myka for changes in their boss.

Myka shook her head. Then she looked at the sword. "Pete, the scabbard!"

"Right!" Pete grabbed the sword sheath through the layer of neutralizer and tugged it off, revealing the blade. He hit his knees and poured neutralizer on the bare blade. Sparks flew from the sword as the neutralizer hit it. Pete poured out the remainder of the purple neutralizer until he was sure that the sword was covered.

When the last of the sparks fizzled from the sword Artie released a gasp. Myka felt him relax and saw his head tilt slightly. She bent over Artie calling to him. Pete watched until the sparks stopped then turned and stood behind his partner looking at their boss. Myka rubbed Artie's shoulder and chest hard with her one free hand trying to revive him. Eventually the old man grunted. Myka slapped his face and he flinched. "Artie… c'mon. Artie!"

Artie slowly opened his brown eyes. He saw Pete behind Myka's shoulder, standing over him. Pete held the empty neutralizer can like a foot ball under his arm. They both went out of focus and faded to black as Artie blinked. When he opened his eyes again Pete was keeling beside him. Myka was still leaning heavily into his shoulder.

His world got clearer as Artie returned to consciousness. With awareness came the sharp and gnawing pain from the sword wound. It was like a lightning bolt pinned his shoulder to the ground. It shot into his chest and back and didn't stop. When he could suck in half a breath he eked out, "M…ka. Can you ease up…. little bit?"

Myka leaned into Artie to hear him then realized that she still had her full weight on him in her attempt to stop the bleeding. "Oh!" She moved from over his shoulder, causing him to gasp and whimper, but breathe easier. She pulled back his shirt to evaluate the slit of a sword wound. It was an angry red color from being torn open repeatedly but it was no longer bleeding.

Pete tilted his head to see the wound then looked at his boss. "Hey Artie. How you feeling?"

The old man croaked out, "Like a pinyata."

Pete and Myka blinked at the unexpected answer. "Don't you mean pin cushion?" Pete quipped back. Myka huffed out at the humor and Pete outright smiled. He hoped that if Artie was joking then maybe it meant that he was feeling better than he looked. "I'll get the car. Be right back." Pete jogged quickly back to the car. By the time he drove the car around to his partner she had Artie sitting up.

Pete jumped out of the car. He saw Myka snaking her hand under Artie's collar. She put a bit of white cloth against the exit wound on his back which immediately started showing red seeping through. Pulling her arm back out Pete saw her blouse shirt sleeve ragged and loose where she cut it. Myka saw him looking and said, "Out of gauze." She didn't pause, but gathered the medical supplies that weren't bloodied through, keeping one hand on Artie to steady him.

The younger man walked in front of Artie's slumped shoulders and bowed head. With an effort the graying agent lifted his head to look up at Pete. The younger agent hesitated at Artie's pale complexion and lack of energy. But he also knew that he had to get the old man to the hospital as soon as possible. Pete glanced at the puddle of blood that Artie left on the ground and his blood soaked shirt. He took a breath and decided on action.

"Ok, Artie, you ready?" he said. Artie nodded wearily.

The agent reached down and grasped Artie's uninjured right arm. Myka jumped up to help support Artie if needed. Pete counted to three, leaned back and pulled the old man to his feet. Artie gasped from the effort and was caught by Pete on his right and supported by Myka on his left. He staggered but after a second he got his legs to work. Pete hung onto him as Myka moved to open the car door.

"Ok. C'mon Artie." Pete held on and wrapped his arm behind the warehouse boss.

Artie swayed but was steadied by Pete standing strong beside him. He took a few steps to the car and hesitated. Pete encouraged him saying, "C'mon Artie. Little further."

"Remind me to never let James stab me again." Artie said.

Pete smiled at the understatement and said, "Yeah! Um, ok. Deal." He huffed at the humor when Artie was staggering under his injury and blood loss. Pete met Myka's eyes and shook his head with a smirk. Myka ran to the other side of the car to help from the inside while Pete helped Artie into the back seat.

After he was situated, Pete ran around the car and slid behind the wheel. Myka leaned forward and put the samurai sword on the seat beside Pete. He said, "Uh… warehouse or hospital?"

They both looked at Artie lying limply against the door in the back seat then at each other. They both said, "Hospital!"


End file.
